Method and apparatus for selectively providing messages in telecommunications systems

ABSTRACT

A telecommunications advertising means is disclosed. The telecommunication advertising means includes an advertisement database coupled to a processing means. The advertisement database stores subscriber specific or third party advertisements that are selectively associated with communications in a telecommunications network. The selective association is carried out by the processing means. In one embodiment, a router is coupled to the advertisement database. The router routes communications from source to destination within the telecommunications network. The router also routes advertisements that have been associated with the communications to the sources and destinations of the communications. A telecommunications system is also disclosed. The telecommunications system comprises a network subsystem, which includes a telecommunications advertising means. The telecommunications advertising means comprises an advertisement database and a processing means.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit, as a continuation under 35U.S.C. 120, of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/364,940 entitled,“Method and Apparatus for Telecommunications Advertising,” filed Feb. 3,2009, which is in turn a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/585,460, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,489,768, entitled, “Method andApparatus for Telecommunications Advertising, filed Jun. 1, 2000, theentirety of which are incorporated by reference herein as is set forthin their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to telecommunications and, moreparticularly, to a method and apparatus for telecommunicationsadvertising.

BACKGROUND

Currently, the area of telecommunications is rapidly expanding. As aresult, new products and services are constantly coming into the market,which promise more information, of more relevance to an individual user,and presented in a more timely fashion. It is an exciting time forconsumers interested in such products and services; however, suchproducts and services can be very costly. For example, Personal DigitalAssistants (FDA's) and cellular phones can cost hundreds of dollarsdepending on the features and functions included. Moreover, sending amegabyte of data content over a wireless network can cost hundreds oftimes what it costs to send the same data over a fixed network.Obviously, consumers would prefer that the costs come down, before theystart using many of these new telecommunications products and services.Unfortunately, the providers of these products and services need moreusers before they can bring the costs down significantly. Advertising isone way to subsidize the costs of new products and services, thus makingthem more affordable for the consumer.

It has been suggested that in a telecommunications network, advertisingmessages could be applied to a calling party's line in between rings ofthe ringback signal. For example, such a system is disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 4,811,382 issued to Sleevi (the Sleevi patent). The Sleevipatent further suggests that a message could be associated with thecalling party based on the calling party's phone number, the calledparty's phone number, or the long distance carrier of either party. Inaddition, messages could be changed based on the time of day, or the dayof the week or month. One drawback to these suggestions, however, isthat only the calling party is targeted and the association of messagesis based on a limited number of criteria. Moreover, only using theperiod in between the ringback signals limits the type and number ofmessages that can be played to the caller. Another drawback is that thesuggestions above only contemplate a fixed analog telecommunicationsnetwork. New telecommunications systems, however, provide expandedopportunity to provide advertisers with highly targeted advertising andto subsidize the costs to the consumer of the products and servicesassociated with these new systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A telecommunications advertising means is disclosed. Thetelecommunication advertising means includes an advertisement databasecoupled to a processing means. The advertisement database storessubscriber specific or third party advertisements that are selectivelyassociated with communications in a telecommunications network. Theselective association is carried out by the processing means. In oneembodiment, a router is coupled to the advertisement database. Therouter routes communications from source to destination within thetelecommunications network. The router also routes advertisements thathave been associated with the communications to the sources anddestinations of the communications.

A telecommunications system is also disclosed. The telecommunicationssystem comprises a network subsystem, which includes atelecommunications advertising means. The telecommunications advertisingmeans comprises an advertisement database and a processing means.

A method of telecommunications advertising is also disclosed as well asvarious other embodiments of the telecommunications advertising means.These other embodiments and further features and advantages of theinvention are described in detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the figures of the accompanying drawings, like reference numberscorrespond to like elements, in which:

FIG. 1. illustrates a telecommunications advertising means in accordancewith the invention.

FIG. 2. is a process flow diagram illustrating the operation of afixed-line telecommunications network.

FIG. 3. illustrates a telecommunications system that includes atelecommunications advertising means in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 4. illustrates a cellular telecommunications system that includes atelecommunications advertising means in accordance with anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5. illustrates a plurality of cellular telecommunications systeminterfaced to a fixed network switch, wherein each cellulartelecommunications system includes a telecommunications advertisingmeans in accordance with the embodiment of the invention illustrated inFIG. 4.

FIG. 6. illustrates a paging network system that includes atelecommunications advertising means in accordance with anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7. is a process flow diagram that illustrates a process forcommunicating a paging message.

FIG. 8. is a process flow diagram that illustrates a method oftelecommunications advertising in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method for updating userpreferences associated with a telecommunications advertising means inaccordance with one embodiment

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example embodiment of a telecommunicationsadvertising means 100 in accordance with the present invention.Telecommunications advertising means 100 is preferably an integral partof a telecommunications service provider's network and comprises anadvertisement database 102, processing means 104, and router 106.Advertisement database 102 stores advertisements that can be played tosystem users at appropriate times based on appropriate criteria. In oneimplementation, the advertisements may comprise messages that arespecific to a certain subscriber, or messages that are advertisementsfrom third party advertisers. Processing means 104 selectivelyassociates at least one advertisement in advertisement database 102 withincoming communications 108. For example, in one implementationprocessing means 104 associates an advertisement with a source 110 ofincoming communication 108. In another implementation, processing means104 associates an advertisement with a destination 112 associated withincoming communication 108, and, in a further implementation, processingmeans 104 associates an advertisement with both source 110 anddestination 112 of incoming communication 108. In each of the aboveimplementations, processing means 104 may actually associate multipleadvertisements with source 110 and/or destination 112 of incomingcommunication 108, as opposed to a single advertisement.

Router 106 receives incoming communication 108 and connects it to theappropriate destination 112. Router 106 may, for example, be part of afixed-line telecommunications network, such as a PSTN or ISDN, whichgenerally connect ordinary telephone sets together via switchingcenters. In this case, telecommunications advertising means 100, andtherefore router 106, may be included in such a switching center. In thetypical fixed telecommunications network example, the switching centeris normally a telephone company facility called a central office, butthe switching center may be a toll office, a private branch exchange(PBX), or the like.

A typical process by which router 106 would function within a switchingcenter is illustrated by the steps in FIG. 2. First, in step 202, thecalling party removes his telephone from the telephone hook, whichcloses the switch hook contacts and informs the local switching centerof a request for service. As those skilled in the art will appreciate,however, the request for service may also be generated in a variety ofother ways that are well known in the art. For example, for cordlessphones, the request for service signal may be generated by pressing aTALK or CALL button. Similarly, some phones include a NEW CALL buttonfor initiating service. Accordingly, the present invention is notlimited to any particular manner of generating a request for servicesignal. The request for service is an incoming communication 108 shownin FIG. 1.

In step 204, the switching center will apply a dial tone to the callingparty's line and wait for the calling party to dial a number. In step206, the number is dialed and the switching center interprets the digitsmaking up the number. Some portion of the number, typically the firstthree digits, will indicate whether the call is an inter-office call ora same office call, i.e., whether the call needs to be routed through asecond central office or not. Therefore, in step 208 the switchingcenter determines if the call is an inter-office call, in which case anidle connection or trunk to the other central office is selected (step210). In step 212, once the trunk is seized, or if no trunk wasnecessary because it is a same office call, the switching centerdetermines the status of the called party's line. As best seen in FIG.1, the called party is the destination 112 of incoming communication108. If the telephone at the called party's location is busy, then abusy signal is applied to the calling party's line in step 214. If thetelephone at the called party's location is idle, then, in step 216, aring signal is applied to the called party's line in order to activatethe ringer in the called party's telephone. Simultaneously, in step 218,a ringback signal is applied to the calling party's line. When thetelephone is answered by the called party (step 220), the off hookstatus causes a termination of the ringback signal and the parties areconnected. At the end of the conversation, the telephones are returnedto their on hook status (step 222), and the lines and trunk arereleased.

Thus, in the fixed telecommunications network example, router 106 formsan integral part of the circuits and systems of the switching center.Processing means 104 may also be integrated into the circuits andsystems making up the switching center. In fact, in some implementationsprocessing means 104 may be merged with router 106. Advertisementdatabase 102 may be a standalone database or may be integrated into theresources present within a particular switching center. Moreover, thecomponents that makeup telecommunications advertising means 100 canactually be distributed throughout the network.

The following implementations are described in order to furtherillustrate the above possibilities. In one implementation,telecommunications advertising means 100 may be included in a switchingcenter such as a central office. Depending on the particulars of theimplementation, each component of means 100 may standalone within thecentral office or may be integrated into the circuits and systems thatmake up the central office. Alternatively, in another implementation thecomponents comprising telecommunications means 100 may be distributedthroughout central offices within the network. In other words, a router106 may be present in each of a plurality of central offices making upthe fixed telecommunications network. Advertisement database 102 andprocessing means 104 may, however, be contained within one particularcentral office, or distributed along with router 106.

Although source 110 has been described above as a telephone set, source110 of incoming communication 108 is not limited to a telephone set. Inother implementations, for example, source 110 is a desktop computer, alaptop, a fax machine, or an interface to an entirely differentcommunications system. With regard to the latter, traditional fixednetworks are interfaced to a variety of modem telecommunication networksfrom which incoming communication 108 may be generated. Thus, forexample, source 110 may also be a wireless network, a local loop, apaging network, or a Local Area Network (LAN). As will be discussed inrelation to further embodiments, each of these networks contains atleast one interface to a fixed network. Therefore, each of these networktypes may act as source 110 of incoming communication 108 in variousimplementations of means 100.

The switching center itself is not limited to a typical PSTN or ISDNtype of network switching center. For example, telecommunicationsadvertising means 100 may be integrated into a wireless system or theInternet. In these implementations, the method of identifyingdestination 112 and of connecting source 110 thereto are different, butthe basic approach is the same. In implementations involving theInternet, telecommunications advertising means 100 may be includedwithin a router or plurality of routers used to route traffic across theInternet. In this case, the Internet address or domain name is used toidentify source 110 and destination 112, instead of the digits of thetelephone number dialed. It will be apparent to those skilled in theart, therefore, that incoming communication 108 is not limited to voicecommunications, but may also include data communications. In fact,depending on the implementation, incoming communication 108 may be avideo communication, a paging communication, an email communication, orany combination of the above. Other than what type of advertisements maybe sent, the type of communication does not impact the functionality oftelecommunication advertising means 100.

In addition to connecting source 110 with destination 112, router 106also routes advertisements associated with source 110 to source 110 andany advertisements associated with destination 112 to destination 112.Because the user is captive, the user must hear or observe the message.In this way, it can be assured that the advertising message reaches itsintended target.

Looking at FIG. 2, there are several points, depending on the desiredimplementation, that a message may be associated with and sent by router106 to source 110, destination 112, or both. For example, looking atstep 204, an advertisement can be associated with incoming communication108 and sent to source 110 just prior to the dial tone being applied.

Alternatively, the message can actually replace the dial tone. This ispossible because a dial tone alerts the user to the fact that the useris connected to the network and may dial a number. Thus, thisimplementation would use the advertisement to alert the user of thenetwork connection. Once the advertisement finishes playing, the userdials the desired number.

In an alternative implementation, a short advertisement replaces theringback signal in step 218. Typically, the ringback signal consists ofshort rings every few seconds. In this implementation, therefore, ashort advertisement is played in place of the rings. In anotherimplementation, once the called party's telephone goes off hook in step220, a short advertisement is played to the calling party. The playingof the short advertisement indicates to the calling party that thecalled party has answered and that the calling party may begin theconversation after the advertisement has played.

An advertisement may also be associated with the called party(destination 112). In this implementation, the advertisement is routedto the called party when the called party's telephone goes off hook. Thecalling party preferably continues to receive the ringback signal, orsubstitute advertisements, until the advertisement is finished on thecalled party's side, at which point the conversation may begin.Alternatively, when the called party's line goes off hook a shortadvertisement may be played for both parties, so that the conversationmay begin after the advertisements are complete. Ideally, theadvertisements would last the same amount of time, to avoid any feelingof disconnect by one of the parties.

In additional variations, the implementations described above may befurther combined. For example, an advertisement in place of the dialtone may be combined with short advertisements in place of the ringbacksignal, which may be further combined with an advertisement played toone or both parties when the called party's telephone goes of hook. In aslightly different implementation, instead of the ringback signal orsubstitute advertisements, a continuous advertisement may be played tothe calling party after the calling party dials the number. When thecalled party's telephone goes off hook, the advertisement will stop, andconversation can then begin. This continuous advertisement may becombined with an advertisement played before or in place of the dialtone. In addition, it may be combined with an advertisement played forthe called party, when the called party picks up. Those skilled in theart will appreciate, therefore, that the implementations discussed canbe combined in a variety of ways in order to deliver to each party avariety of different messages of different lengths, and at differenttimes during the call initiation process. In this respect, the callingparty may receive the same advertisement or advertisements as the calledparty, or the advertisements may be different. It can be assured,however, that each party will hear or observe the advertisement oradvertisements, just as it is assured that each party would hear thedial tone or ringback signal. This is because the parties must payattention at the specific times such advertisements would be playing inorder to complete the call.

In order to ensure that the advertisements are well targeted to theparticular called or calling party, processing means 104 preferablyassociates advertisements stored in advertisement database 102 based oninformation about the parties. As mentioned previously, advertisementsstored in advertisement database 102 may be subscriber specificadvertisements or third party advertisements. In particularly preferredimplementations, a specific advertisement is associated based on thespecific subscriber. For example, a certain subscriber may want aspecific message played for any outgoing call, incoming call, or both.This type of implementation will be particularly advantageous forbusiness subscribers. By way of illustration, a business subscriber maywant to have a specific short message, such as the business name orjingle of the business, routed back to the source of each incoming call.Alternatively, a business may want a specific message or messages playedeach time an outgoing call or interoffice call is originated on one ofthe business' lines. This concept may be extended in order to allowthird party advertisers to target specific users or groups of users forspecific advertising messages. For example, a particular advertiser maypay the telecommunications provider to play an advertising message toeach party placing a call in the telecommunication provider's network.

Money collected from advertisers or from business subscribers to playtheir advertising messages is preferably used to offset the cost of theservice to each regular subscriber to the telecommunications network.Alternatively, the system 100 may be set up so that money collected fromadvertisers and businesses is used to offset the cost of subscribersthat have agreed to receive advertising messages as part of the callprocess.

The implementations, as described so far, have not involved highlytargeted advertising. Means 100 may be used, however, to facilitatehighly targeted advertising. For example, a certain advertiser may wantto limit the playing of his advertisement to subscribers in certaingeographic areas. Further, the advertiser may have advertising messagesin multiple languages and would therefore want to play a differentmessage depending on the primary language of the targeted subscriber.These types of implementations may be achieved by programming processingmeans 104 to selectively associate advertisements stored inadvertisement database 102 to the calling and/or called parties based onpredetermined criteria. One example of selective association has alreadybeen discussed, i.e., playing a message specific to a certain businessto callers calling the business. Other example criteria, in addition tolanguage and geography, that can be employed to increase the selectivityof the advertising message played are the source 110 of incomingcommunication 108, the type of incoming communication 108, the time ofday of communication 108, and the destination 112 of incomingcommunication 108. With respect to source 110 and destination 112, awide variety of factors can be used, including, for example, area code,account type, average monthly phone bill, frequent phone numbers called,address, etc.

Information associated with source 110 of incoming communication 108,such as the corresponding number, is preferably used to determine ifsource 110 is initiating a same office call, an inter-office call, or acall originating in a different type of network such as a cellularnetwork, a LAN, a local loop, or a paging network. Third partyadvertisements can then be associated with incoming communication 108based on the source, and in a manner that increases the selectivity ofthe advertising so as to produce a better return on the advertisingdollars spent. Similarly, the type of communication can play a usefulrole in increasing the selectivity of the advertisement. As mentionedpreviously, the type of communication is not limited to telephone calls,but may include data communication, video communication, pagingcommunication, email, voice/audio communication, or any combination.Thus, by taking into account the source and type of the communication, amore selective approach may be employed to associate specificadvertisements from specific advertisers with specific communications.

Similar information about the destination of incoming communication 108may also be advantageously integrated into the message associationprocess. In a further implementation, information related to preferencesfor products and services, as well as personal data, is gathered foreach subscriber and used to make the association even more highlytargeted. It should be noted that these criteria used in the associationprocess apply to both advertisements sent to source 110 of incomingcommunication 108 and advertisements sent to destination 112 of incomingcommunication 108.

Of course, the basic principles are the same for implementations thatinvolve other than the traditional fixed telecommunications networkimplementations. For example, networks relying in whole or in part onwireless communication lines would still operate in the same manner. Inthe case of the Internet, the selectivity can be even more beneficial inthat the Internet brings together a host of communication methods anddevices. Thus, there is an even broader range of selection criterionthat can be used in the association of advertisements withcommunications. Additionally, the advertisement can be in a variety offormats. For example, the advertisement may be an audio advertisement,it may be a jingle, a textual message, a video message, a graphicmessage, or a combination of these messages, depending on the desiredimplementation. Thus, in an implementation involving the Internet, wheremultimedia capable computers are usually used to access the network,each of these message types would be applicable. But even in thetraditional telecommunications network, video conferencing is possible,wherein text, video, or graphical advertisements are employed. Newdigital technologies for fixed networks, such as ISDN, also makeimplementations involving a variety of advertisement types possible. Theadvantage of certain types of advertisement messages in relation tocertain types of networks will be discussed more fully in relation tofurther embodiments discussed below.

An alternative embodiment of the invention is now described inconnection with FIG. 3. As mentioned above, in some implementationssource 110 of incoming communication 108 is actually a different type ofnetwork, such as a cellular network, paging network, local loop, or LAN.In the alternative embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 3,telecommunications advertising means 100 is contained within one ofthese different source networks.

The general situation is illustrated in FIG. 3. According to FIG. 3, oneof these source networks 300 generally consists of a switching center312, which is interfaced to a plurality of user terminals 302. Switchingcenter 312 is typically contained within a network subsystem 304, whichalso includes a plurality of administration means 316. Switching center312 handles the switching of communications between terminals 302 andbetween terminals 302 and fixed network users. Switching center 312 isinterfaced to fixed network users through fixed network interface 314.The fixed network may, for example, be a fixed telecommunicationsnetwork such as a PSTN or ISDN. Administrative means 316 contain theadministrative information for all terminals 302. The administrativeinformation is used by switching center 312 to control communicationwithin network 300.

Network subsystem 304 further comprises an advertisement database 102and a processing means 104. Like the previous embodiment, advertisementdatabase 102 stores advertisements that are played to users of terminals302 at appropriate times based on appropriate criteria. Processing means104 associates at least one advertisement from advertisement database102 with each communication within network 300. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 3, the functions of router 106, in the previousembodiment, are performed by switching center 312. Therefore, switchingcenter 312, advertisement database 102, and processing means 104 form atelecommunications advertising means 100 similar to that depicted inFIG. 1.

In network 300, incoming communications are analyzed to determine thesource, destination, type of communication, time of day, etc., thenprocessing means 104 selectively associates at least one advertisementwith the source and/or destination of the communication based on theinformation determined. The advertisement or advertisements areadvertisements unique to a specific subscriber, or a third partyadvertisement. For example, when a terminal to terminal communication isinitiated, processing means 104 may associate an advertisement with thesource and route it back to the source terminal 302. Additionally, anadvertisement from advertisement database 102 may be associated with thedestination terminal 302 and routed to that terminal. The advertisementmay be the same for both source and destination or it may be differentdepending on the implementation. If the communication is initiated witha fixed network user, then this may cause the advertisements associatedwith either the source, or destination, or both to be different than inthe terminal to terminal situation.

When communication is established between a terminal 302 and a fixednetwork user, special considerations may arise. This is because thefixed network may also comprise a telecommunications advertising means100. Therefore, processing means 104 must be capable of resolving whichadvertising means 100 will associate an advertisement or advertisementswith the communication. Looking at specific implementations in thediscussion below will further develop the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3.

First, FIG. 4 illustrates a cellular network 400. In thisimplementation, the terminals 302 comprise wireless mobile stations (MS)406. Cellular network 400 further comprises base station subsystem 402and network subsystem 404. MS's 406 communicate with base stationsubsystem 402 across a Um interface, which is also known as the airinterface or radio link. Base station subsystem 402 includes a pluralityof base station controllers (BSC) 410 and a plurality of base stationtransceiver stations (BTS) 408. Each BTS 408 houses a radio transceiverthat defines a cell and handles the radio link with a plurality of MS's406 within the cell. Each BSC 410 manages the radio resources, such aschannel setup and channel handoff, of one or more BTS's 408. Each BTS408 communicates with a BSC 410 over a standard (Abis) interface.

Network subsystem 404 comprises mobile switching center (MSC) 412 aswell as a plurality of administrative registers 416 and advertisementdatabase 418. Network subsystem 404, of which MSC 412 is the main part,performs the switching of calls between the mobile users and betweenmobile and fixed network users. MSC 412 acts like a normal switchingnode of a fixed network, but additionally provides the functionalityneeded to handle a mobile subscriber, such as registration,authentication, location, updating, handoffs, and call routing. MSC 412also provides the connection to a fixed network through networkinterface 414. In the implementation shown, MSC 412 also performs thefunctions of selectively associating advertisements in advertisementdatabase 418 with communications within network 400. In alternativeimplementations, a separate processing means may be used to perform thisfunction. Administrative registers 416 contain all the administrativeinformation of each subscriber registered in network 400, along with thecurrent location of each MS 406. It should be noted that some or all ofregisters 416 may also be implemented as part of MSC 412. Alternatively,each register 416 and MSC 412 may be implemented as independent units.Administrative registers 416, together with MSC 412, provide callrouting and roaming capabilities.

When a MS 406 places a call to another MS 406, the call is routedthrough MSC 412. Unlike the fixed network embodiment, the callerinitiating the call does not usually receive a dial tone indicatingconnection to the network. A caller will dial the number desired andthen place MS 406 to their ear. MSC 412 will determine, based on thenumber dialed, that the destination of the call is another MS 406. Ifthe called party is using their MS 406, or if the called party's MS 406is turned off, then a busy tone or a message indicating theunavailability of the called party is routed back to the calling party.If, on the other hand, the called party's MS 406 is on and is idle, thena ring signal is applied to the called party's MS 406 and a ringbacksignal is applied to the calling party's MS 406. When the called partyanswers, the ring and ringback signals are terminated and theconversation can begin.

Because there is typically no dial tone, an advertisement fromadvertisement database 418 cannot be played prior to or in place of thedial tone. But an advertisement or advertisements from advertisementdatabase 418 can be, depending on the implementation, substituted forthe rings in the ringback signal, played in between the rings of theringback signal, or substituted for the ringback signal entirely, i.e.,one long advertisement or series of short advertisements is played forthe caller until the called party picks up as opposed to the traditionalringback signal. In a preferred implementation, once the called partypicks up, an advertisement is played for one or both parties afterwhich, the conversation can begin. In addition, implementations maycombine, in different ways, the playing of messages at these variouspoints during the call.

MSC 412, or a standalone processing means in those implementations thatinclude one, selectively associates advertisements in advertisementdatabase 418 based on, for example, information related to the caller,or source of the call, and/or the destination. As in the fixed networkexample, advertisements may also be selectively associated based on thetime of day, geographic location, primary language, or the identity ofthe specific caller or called party. In one implementation, the messageassociated comprises billing information for one or both parties. Forexample, the party's balance and minutes remaining for the month areplayed for the party. In another implementation, a specific party orsubscriber specifies the message or messages to be played under certaincircumstances. For example, a business may pay to have the business'jingle played to any caller using a MS 406 to call the business. In yetanother implementation, the network advertises new calling plans orspecial promotions are played. In particularly preferredimplementations, third party advertisers may pay to have advertisementsrelated to their products and services played during the call. Moneygenerated from this type of advertising may be used to subsidize thecost of products and services for subscribers to network 400.

Unlike routing in the fixed network example, where a terminal issemi-permanently wired to a central office, a mobile user can roamnationally and even internationally. Therefore, the directory numberassociated with a particular MS 406 usually contains a country code aswell as identification of the associated home network 400. When a fixednetwork subscriber initiates a call to a mobile user, the fixed networkswitching center interfaces with one or several MSC's 412 in order toconnect the call. As a result, the steps are very similar to the onesillustrated in FIG. 2, except multiple switching centers from multiplenetworks are involved. The situation gets even more complicated when, asillustrated in FIG. 5, a mobile user in one cellular network 502initiates a call to a user in a second cellular network 504. In thiscase there are network switches from three different networks and eachmay have its own telecommunication advertising means 100. To deal withthe potential conflict, each switch 412 and 500 preferably incorporatesprotocols for determining whether to associate an advertisement with aparticular user under these conditions. In the typical implementation,for example, each switch 412 only associates an advertisement with theMS 406 (source or destination) that is in the same network, and fixednetwork 500 does not associate any advertisements with thecommunication.

It should be noted that MS's 406 used in cellular systems present uniquepossibilities for communicating advertisements to subscribers. Forexample, one implementation takes advantage of the fact that the ringthe called party hears is completely programmable. Therefore, in thisimplementation the ring is replaced by an advertisement. This can beaccomplished by storing potential advertisements in each MS 406. WhenMSC 412 associates a particular advertisement, it sends a command to acalled party's MS 406 to play that advertisement in place of the ring.MS 406, accesses the stored advertisements and plays the appropriate oneat the appropriate time. The ability to program a MS 406 over the air toconstantly update which advertisements are stored in MS 406 may also betaken advantage of in this implementation.

Another unique method of communicating messages to mobile users that maybe employed in the present embodiment takes advantage of the fact that alarge number of MS's 406 are equipped with a display device. Therefore,the present embodiment also contemplates the use of graphic or textadvertisements that are displayed on the user's display device. Forexample, a company may pay to have its trademark flashed on the screenof each MS 406 whenever there is an incoming call, or whenever a userpushes send to initiate a call, or a combination thereof. The use ofgraphic or text advertisements is also incorporated in implementationsinvolving a second example type of network 300 as illustrated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 illustrates a paging network 600 comprising paging devices 604,paging sites 610, and control point 602. The heart of control point 602is paging switching center 606, which connects paging network 600 to thelocal telephone company through fixed network interface 612. Fixednetwork interface 612 is typically several telephone line connections,which can be direct inward dial circuits, T1 circuits, or networkconnections. These different types of connections are mixed together inorder to optimize the system and maintain overhead costs. Pagingswitching center 606 outputs paging and control data to paging sites 610in order to successfully implement the paging operation. The linkbetween paging switching center 606 and paging site 610 is either an RFlink of fixed line connection. Paging sites 610 transmit the paginginformation to all of the paging devices 604 in the area. Alternatively,the links between paging sites 610 and paging switching center 606 maybe implemented as a satellite link system. In addition, control point602 includes advertisement database 608, and optionally storage 614 ifpaging network 600 includes voicemail capabilities. In certainimplementations, a stand alone processing means is included forselectively associating advertisements stored in database 608 withcommunications within network 600. In the implementation shown in FIG.6, however, paging switching center 606 performs the function ofselectively associating advertisements.

The process involved in completing a page is illustrated in FIG. 7.First, in step 702, a person dials a number corresponding to a pagingdevice 602. Then in step 704, the switching center of the localTelephone Company determines that the number dialed corresponds to apaging device 602. In step 706, the Telephone Company switching centerroutes the page to paging switching center 606. Paging switching center606 encodes and processes the page and outputs paging information to thepaging sites 610 in step 708. Paging sites 610 then transmit the page tothe user in step 710. Because paging networks 600 traditionally involveone way paging, and paging terminals traditionally use a vibration oraudible beep to indicate an incoming page and not ring indicators,paging switching center 606 preferably selectively associates graphic ortext advertisements stored on database 608 with each incoming pagereceived through interface 612. Thus, for example, as with the previousembodiment, a company may pay to have its trademark displayed on pagingdevice 602 each time a page is received.

Two way paging, pagers with multiple programmable ring indicators, andpagers equipped with voice audio capabilities, however, expand thepossible methods of implementing a telecommunications advertising means100 within a paging network 600 to many of the various implementationsdescribed above in connection with prior embodiments. In pagers withvoice audio capabilities or voicemail, for example, an audibleadvertisement, such as a jingle or slogan, may be selectively added byswitching center 606 to the beginning of each voice page received.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that otherimplementations of network 300 will involve other network systems, suchas local loops, wireless local loops, or LAN's. Moreover, the type ofcommunication involved, in addition to calls and pages, incorporatesvideo and text communication depending on the system implementation.Each of the implementations discussed may also incorporate a means toacquire more information about a product or service advertised duringthe communication. For example, a calling or called party in a telephonenetwork, a cellular network, or a paging network can stay on after thecommunication transaction is over and receive options or a menu allowingthe party to select to receive more information about a particularproduct or service. In certain other implementations, the user canactually select to be connected directly to the company offering theproducts or service.

There is also provided a method of telecommunications advertisingcomprising the steps illustrated in FIG. 8. First, in step 802, aplurality of advertisements to be associated with communications withina telecommunications network are stored. In preferred implementations ofthe embodiment, information related to users within the network is alsostored, as illustrated by optional step 810 in FIG. 8. Depending on theparticulars of the implementation, this user information may comprisesome or all of the following pieces of information: a user's primarylanguage, a user's preferences, a user's communications provider, auser's communication means, a user's communication plan, and a user'sgeographic location. A user's communication means refers to the devicethe user uses when communicating over the telecommunications network.The device could be, for example, a telephone, cellphone, PDA, orcomputer depending on the system. Most of the user information is knownwhen a user agrees or signs up for a particular communications service.User preferences, however, may be obtained, for example, through the useof a user questionnaire or fact sheet. For example, when a user signs upfor a service they are preferably asked to provide personal informationsuch as age, salary, marital status, number of children, etc., andbuying preferences such as how much the user spends on certain items,what type of items the user typically purchases, what type of items theuser would like to receive information on, and so on. All of theinformation related to the user is then preferably stored and used inthe next step.

In step 804, an advertisement or advertisements are associated with asource of a communication within the telecommunications network. Forexample, an advertisement may be associated based simply on the identityof the source as determined by the number or address associated with thesource. Preferably, however, the identity is combined with the userinformation in order to selectively associate a highly targetedadvertisement, such as an advertisement for a particular product, withthe source. In step 806 the advertisement is played for the userassociated with the source of the communication.

An advertisement is also preferably associated with the destination ofthe communication. This step is illustrated as optional step 812 in FIG.8. If the user associated with the destination is also a subscriber tothe telecommunications network, then user information is also preferablyused to associate an advertisement with the destination. If the user isnot a subscriber, then the identity of the destination user willtypically be the primary factor used in associating the advertisement oradvertisements. In optional step 814, the advertisement is then playedfor the user associated with the destination. In step 808, after theadvertisement or advertisements are played for the source anddestination, the communication transaction is completed between the twoparties. For example, the transaction may be a telephone call or email.After the advertisements are played the call or email would be putthrough to the other party. In the email example, the advertisement oradvertisements could be attached or embedded in the emails themselves.

It is contemplated that the users of networks including atelecommunication advertising means 100 would be billed at a lower ratefor the communication service due to the fact that the advertisementsare included in the communication. Further, as illustrated by step 816in FIG. 8, one or both users, depending on the implementation, may stayonline and choose to receive further information with regard to one ormore of the advertisements played during the communication transaction.For example, one or both users may wish to receive more informationabout the product or service advertised. In a particular preferredimplementation of the method, the user may choose (step 818) to beconnected directly to the company whose product or service wasadvertised. In this case, the telecommunications network connects theuser to the company through the telecommunications network via thetelecommunications means employed by the user.

In an alternative embodiment, the users are given the option to receivemore information prior to the connection between source and destination.For example, after the advertisements are played for the user associatedwith the source, the user is given the option to receive moreinformation relating to the advertised products or services. Dependingon the implementation, the user may choose to receive the informationimmediately or to wait until after the communication transaction. Inother sample embodiments, similar options are provided to thedestination user as well. In alternative embodiments, one or both usersare given the option to receive more information at various pointsduring the communication transaction.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, there is also provided a method for updatinguser preferences associated with a telecommunications advertising meanscomprising the following steps: First, in step 902, a user accesses arecord containing the user's preferences. In one sample embodiment, therecord is part of a larger database that contains a plurality of recordscontaining user information for users within a telecommunicationsnetwork. In one sample implementation, the user accesses the record viathe Internet. In this implementation, the user would, for example, go toa website where they could choose to access their user preferenceinformation. In a typical implementation, the user would need to supplya password of some sort in order to gain access to the information.

Once the user has gained access, the user has the option to change thepreferences and user information contained in the record. This step isillustrated as step 904 in FIG. 9. Then, in step 906, the user changesthe information they wish to change. For example, in implementationsthat use the Internet, the user accesses a screen or window, or seriesof screens or windows, from which they can change or select newinformation for the record. Depending on the implementation, the userpreferences will relate to age, salary, marital status, number ofchildren, etc., and buying preferences such as how much the user spendson certain items, what type of items the user typically purchases, whattype of items the user would like to receive information on, and so on.

In step 908, the new information is automatically updated and stored inthe record, which is automatically updated and stored in the database.In an additional sample embodiment, the record is accessed viatelephone. The user again uses a password to access the information andis then provided with menu options to select new or updated information.

After the new information is updated and stored in step 908, the updatedrecord is used, in step 910, to automatically update associations ofadvertisements to be played to the user. For example, thetelecommunications advertising means is part of a telecommunicationsnetwork. When the user initiates or receives a communication within thenetwork, the user information is used to associate advertisements thatare played to the user before, during, or after the communication. Instep 910, the updated user information automatically updates whichadvertisements are associated with, and played to, the user.

While various embodiments of the invention have been presented, itshould be understood that they have been presented by way of exampleonly and not limitation. It will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat many other embodiments are possible, which would not depart fromthe scope of the invention. For example, certain telecommunicationsnetwork systems are described. Telecommunications technology, however,is constantly evolving, resulting in new systems and means forcommunicating. The present invention anticipates that changes intechnology will occur, but the basic invention will continue to apply tonewly developed systems.

1. A telecommunications system configured to replace or overlay a signalnormally routed to the source of a communication when the communicationis initiated by the source with an audio message, the telecommunicationssystem comprising: a message database that stores subscriber specific orthird party audio messages; and a processor coupled with the messagedatabase, the processor configured to: classify the source of thecommunication, wherein classification of the source of the communicationis based at least in part on identifying information associated with thesource, the identifying information including at least one of atelephone number associated with the incoming communication and an areacode associated with the incoming communication; select an audio messagebased on the classification and based on an association between thesource and the selected audio message, the association made by a userassociated with the destination of the communication; send the selectedaudio message to the source of the communication, the destination of thecommunication, or both, such that the audio message can be played to thesource, the destination, or both, before the destination responds to thecommunication; and cause the audio message to stop playing when thedestination responds to the communication.
 2. The telecommunicationssystem of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured todetermine whether the destination is available, and if the destinationin not available, then to not send the audio message to the source. 3.The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein the signal normallyrouted to the source is a ringback signal.
 4. The telecommunicationssystem of claim 3, wherein the processor is further configured toreplace the entire ringback signal with the audio message.
 5. Thetelecommunications system of claim 3, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to replace a portion of the ringback signal with the audiomessage.
 6. The telecommunications system of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further configured to select a different message from themessage database and send it to the source when the selected audiomessage is sent to the destination.
 7. The telecommunications system ofclaim 1, wherein the audio message is an advertisement.
 8. Atelecommunications system configured to replace or overlay a signalnormally routed to the source of a communication when the communicationis initiated by the source with an audio message, the telecommunicationssystem comprising: a message database that stores subscriber specific orthird party audio messages; and a processor coupled with the messagedatabase, the processor configured to: select an audio message based onan association between the source and the selected audio message, theassociation made by a user associated with the destination of thecommunication, wherein the audio message is selected based at least inpart on identifying information associated with the source, theidentifying information including at least one of a telephone numberassociated with the incoming communication and an area code associatedwith the incoming communication; send the selected audio message to thesource of the communication, the destination of the communication, orboth, such that the audio message can be played to the source, thedestination, or both; and cause the audio message to stop playing whenthe destination responds to the communication.
 9. The telecommunicationssystem of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured todetermine whether the destination is available, and if the destinationin not available, then to not send the audio message to the source. 10.The telecommunications system of claim 8, wherein the signal normallyrouted to the source is a ringback signal.
 11. The telecommunicationssystem of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured toreplace the entire ringback signal with the audio message.
 12. Thetelecommunications system of claim 10, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to replace a portion of the ringback signal with the audiomessage.
 13. The telecommunications system of claim 8, wherein theprocessor is further configured to select a different message from themessage database and send it to the source when the selected audiomessage is sent to the destination.
 14. The telecommunications system ofclaim 8, wherein the audio message is an advertisement.
 15. Atelecommunications system configured to replace or overlay a signalnormally routed to the source of a communication when the communicationis initiated by the source with an audio message, the telecommunicationssystem comprising: a message database that stores subscriber specific orthird party audio messages; and a processor coupled with the messagedatabase, the processor configured to: classify the source of thecommunication, wherein classification of the source of the communicationis based at least in part on identifying information associated with thesource, the identifying information including at least one of atelephone number associated with the incoming communication and an areacode associated with the incoming communication; select an audio messagebased on the classification and based on an association between thesource and the selected audio message, the association made by a userassociated with the destination of the communication determine whetherthe destination is available; if the destination is available, then sendthe selected audio message to the source of the communication, thedestination of the communication, or both, such that the audio messagecan be played to the source, the destination, or both; if thedestination is not available, then to not send the audio message to thesource; and cause the audio message to stop playing when the destinationresponds to the communication.
 16. The telecommunications system ofclaim 15, wherein the signal normally routed to the source is a ringbacksignal.
 17. The telecommunications system of claim 16, wherein theprocessor is further configured to replace the entire ringback signalwith the audio message.
 18. The telecommunications system of claim 16,wherein the processor is further configured to replace a portion of theringback signal with the audio message.
 19. The telecommunicationssystem of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured toselect a different message from the message database and send it to thesource when the selected audio message is sent to the destination. 20.The telecommunications system of claim 15, wherein the audio message isan advertisement.